Granada
After Madrid I got the bus down to Granada.
I had a walk through Sacromonte, where the Gitanos (Gypsies) live in caves (although these days a lot of the caves have been bought up by foreign investors).
I already have a post on Sacromonte here; the writing style is very different (I was going for something different with the blog in those days), but the photos are good, even if I do say so myself 🙂
Having done all the main tourist things already, this time I went to visit Placeta Joe Strummer, a small plaza overlooking the Sierra Nevada mountains a few blocks out of town, which is named after the former Clash frontman.
Joe Strummer was a great fan of this part of Spain. He ran off here after the breakup of his band, his interest fuelled by old flatmates and an ex-girlfriend with whom he would discuss Spanish politics.
He also had a great interest in the Granada poet Federico Garcia Lorca, who was killed by fascists in the Spanish civil war and buried in an unmarked grave. At one point he and a friend went out with shovels and tried to dig up Lorca’s grave, but were unable to find it.
Placeta Joe Strummer contains some interesting graffiti.
Strummer immortalised the region in his 1979 song Spanish Bombs…
Categories: Spain, Uncategorized
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you ALWAYA find something interesting (not the run of the mill travel spots on blogs!)
haha, yeah I couldn’t face doing the main tourist stuff again so soon after my last trip, and then I remembered reading about this.
Hi Sarah. Oh I used to like the Clash and I never knew any of this, so thank you for enlightening me. I wonder if there are caves in my neighbourhood? Can you imagine how much a week they would go for lol. Safe travels my friend xx
Yes I was dimly aware of it, but only really reminded when I read about this place. I always get the clash confused with the Stranglers (god knows why) and it’s the Stranglers I saw live a few times, not the Clash. Never mind.
The caves are in danger of becoming their version of Shoreditch, something that only rich can afford. They’re being bought up to rent as holiday homes at inflated prices. Can’t see it taking off in London though. Too cold most of the year.
xx